Minor Consent In Adolescents

In the United States, twenty six states allow minors, defined as children twelve and older, to consent to contraceptive services; Michigan allows some minors, such as those who are married or have previously been pregnant, to consent; four states have no standing laws or policy (“An Overview” 1-2). The contraceptive access also varies across the country. Some states require comprehensive sexual education and for teens to be able to access contraceptives. Some lean more towards abstinence only education in the hopes teens will steer away from sexual activities. There are also scattered clinics where teens can receive birth control. For many parents, this term conjures up images of teenage sex or pregnancy, which can cause them to ignore its

As we see in the world today many teens are becoming mothers before they finish high school or before they turn 18. Although some teens are on birth control already many are not because they are afraid to tell their parents which may lead to their parents thinking they are sexually active. Moreover, teens usually find themselves in a professional clinic trying to seek different options of birth control but they are derailed by having parental consent or notification. Many clinics have a policy were teen needs to have parental consent to receive birth control. Many parents feel that teens should be able to make the choice by themselves if they are having sex or just being careful. But the one question many parents are unable to agree upon

A 16-year-old girl visits a birth control clinic and asks to be put on the pill. Since she is a minor, the clinic doctor who writes the prescription for her notifies her parents of the action. As of the year 2016, there are only 26 states that allow minors to obtain contraceptives without parental consent. There are 20 states that allow certain minors to obtain contraceptives without parental consent and those include minors that are married or who have already been pregnant. Four states have no laws on parental consent (Gutimacher Institute, 2016). This ethical controversy leaves room for an open interruption of whether or not minors should need parental consent to gain access to birth control, to apply ethical reasoning to this controversy one must examine the ethical principles of utilitarianism, rights-based, duty-based, justice based, and virtue-based ethics.

As of recently, the approval of the emergency contraceptive Plan B, for the use of girls as young as fifteen years old has stirred up quite some controversy (Belluck, 2013). Those who oppose it cite the diminishing moral values that this would impose on an already increasingly secular society. These individuals believe that having access to such a powerful substance would encourage young girls to engage in sexual promiscuity without any fear of repercussion (Belluck, 2013). However, proponents of this new law argue that giving full access to fifteen year old girls would discourage them from becoming pregnant at such an early age and gives them the opportunity to make wise decisions about their bodies. Aside from the two strongly opposing sides to this dilemma, the actual nature of the dilemma stems from the ease with which these young girls would be able to access the emergency contraceptive drug. Before the new law came into place, the emergency contraceptive was only available through the prescription of a doctor and could only be accessed through a pharmacist (Aleccia, 2013). With the new law, anyone fifteen or older would be able to access and purchase the drug over-the-counter. Granting such access to girls who may at times not be fully aware of the consequences of their actions is the nature of the dilemma.

In our society today, the topic of birth control and other contraceptives for teens is a stirring debate. Teens are more promiscuous and sexually active than ever before; as early as middle school, we are seeing more teenage pregnancies, STD’s, and abortions than ever. Teenagers are not comfortable discussing their sexual activity with their parents and as a result they are seeking out other ways to gain access to birth control and other forms of contraceptives without parental consent. Access to birth control reduces the number of unintended teenage pregnancies and abortions each year, and access to birth control also fuels teenage promiscuity and encourages sex outside of marriage.

Parents should be supportive to the child no matter what the situation can be or how hard it is to understand. The guardians of the minor have the right to know where they go and with whom they spend time with. This does not necessarily mean they can decide when their child should be ready to be sexually active. Regardless, it is going to occur when they feel that the moment is right. Birth control is not only valuable in protecting young teens getting pregnant, but also has its health advantages. To add to that, the child may want to begin taking birth control before they do so, but it becomes a very uncomfortable and awkward topic for a child to discuss with their parents. There are many unsupportive parents that become sensitive to this topic, and may deny birth control to their daughters. In other words, birth control should be available to teenage girls without parental consent.

-Thesis Statement- Teenagers should not be required to have permission from their parents to receive birth control.

Imagine siting in a doctor’s office with your mom and the doctor comes in and ask “are you sexually active”? It’s a question every girl hates and a nightmare, now you’re asked if you want birth control you want to say yes to be safe but your mom says no, this happened to me my mom made the choice for me and I became pregnant. Some parents know that their child is responsible enough to make their own decision, so if teens are making the decision to have sex without consent it should be the same when it comes to protecting themselves. Teens should have access to birth control without a parent consent because they have human rights, they need to be safe from pregnancy and other life changing decisions.

Parents must be included in their children’s decisions because parents can influence their children in a significant way. For instance, parental consent laws reduce the minor abortion rate by 19 percent (qtd. in Davis). “A 2008 study done by Michael J. New, Ph.D. shows that parental involvement laws reduce the abortion rate among 17 years old by 18.3 percent, among 16 years old by 14.3 percent, and among 15 years old by 8.6 percent” (qtd. in Davis). These statistics show that the states that require parental involvement laws the abortion rates decline greatly. Sometimes, teens want to have an abortion because they are afraid of their parents. However, if the law requires minors to inform their parents about their pregnancy and the possibility of an abortion, their parents will be able to help them. If a teen does not inform her parents about her being pregnant, this teen will never know if her parents would have been supportive and guide her through this difficult process.

Teen girls between the ages of 15 and 18 should be able to receive birth control and contraceptive without the consent of their parents because most believe that’s a good mature age. Birth control is a crucial factor in preventing pregnancies. Birth control motivates young females to be responsible and have knowledge about their sexual health and also have control on their general health. After interviewing

Only 1% of teenagers said that they would stop having sex altogether if their parents would be notified (Guttmacher Institute). 60% of teenagers under the age of 18 said that they would tell their parents about contraceptives (Guttmacher Institute). If a law that requires teenagers to get parent permission to obtain contraceptives passes, 70% of teenagers who had not told their parents about their contraceptives would stop going to be clinic to get their contraceptives, but still continue to have sex (Guttmacher Institute). Mandatory parental consent means that a teenager has to get parent permission while mandatory parental notification means that a teenager has a tell a parent about the birth control (Center for Reproductive Rights). The US Supreme Court said that denying teenagers contraceptives won’t limit sexual activity bit just cause them to have unsafe sex (Center for Reproductive

While some speakers on the issue argue their side with the perspective of the students and teens in mind others focus on the parents and how their perspectives relate to the issue. Helium.com presently has a poll and debate occurring that allows the public to review multiple arguments from both sides of the debate, and then vote “Yes” or “No” on the issue of teens receiving birth control at school. Jeannie Kerns, a mother of seven children, says that it’s in the best interest of the teen, and their parents, to allow them to have the option to decide for themselves if they require “the pill”. She supports her argument by informing the reader, no matter how strongly parents push for their children to abstain from sex they’ll most likely engage in it anyway. She closes her argument by asking why parents wouldn’t

Seven hundred fifty thousand teenagers, ages fifteen to nineteen, become pregnant each year (“Facts”). Teenage birth specialists have often debated whether or not teenagers should have access to birth control and other contraceptives. Although some people think teenagers having birth control will promote promiscuity, birth control should be accessible to teens because they will put themselves at a higher risk for disease and pregnancy without it, and more teenage girls would get a high school diploma with it.

Today, sexually active teenagers can get contraceptives to protect themselves from unplanned pregnancies or sexual diseases without a parent’s permission. In some states federal lawmakers have taken away the ability for teens to protect themselves, they want to prevent sexually active teenagers from getting birth control and condoms unless they get parents permission. Preventing teens from getting contraceptives unless they tell a parent will not stop them from having sex. It will drive them away from the services they need to protect themselves, leading to higher rates of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases

If you have been around any teenagers or have any teenagers then you know that sex is on their mind. When sex is on the teenagers’ mind so is the thought of birth control. Many teenagers start to worry how they can get birth control or how they are going to as their parents to get on birth control. When I was growing up I had a close relationship with my parents especially my mom. When I was ready to be put on birth control I just had a conversation with my mom about how I would like to be put on birth control pills. After my mom and I had that conversation she called the doctor’s office and got me in to see the doctor. In my own personal experience, this was no big deal. I talked to my mom and then got birth control pills. I knew many other teenagers that they could not just go up and talk to their parents the way I had. I was shocked when some of my friends said that if they asked their parents for birth control that they would either be grounded or kicked out of the house. With all the controversy on the birth control issues I have decided to pursue the question, Should teenage girls be required to get their parents’ consent before getting birth control? This question needs to be researched because this is a subject that is a problem not only for a teenager but also for their parents. I would think that parents would want to know if their teen is using birth control.